Justin M. Howard | January 17, 2022
In November, three white Georgia men were found guilty of the murder of an unarmed black man, 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, after suspecting him of committing a series of petty thefts in their neighborhood. Travis McMichael, 35, and his father, Gregory McMichael, 65, were both sentenced to life without parole. The life sentence for their neighbor William Bryan, 52, allows for the possibility of parole after 30 years. The men are also facing potential life sentences in the federal court case, where they are charged with hate crimes and attempted kidnapping. The jury selection, in that case, is scheduled to begin Feb. 7.
Arbery Unarmed and Non-threatening Case
According to prosecutors, Arbery was unarmed with no items in his possession when the McMichaels decided to grab weapons and pursue him in their trucks. In Travis McMichael’s testimony, he admitted that he assumed that Arbery had committed a criminal act simply because he was running. The McMichaels’ defense is that they were making a citizen’s arrest, but there was no mention of a citizens arrest when they first spoke to the police. In Georgia law, a private person may arrest an offender if “the offense is committed in his presence or within his immediate knowledge” and “If the offense is a felony and the offender is escaping or attempting to escape, a private person may arrest him upon reasonable and probable grounds of suspicion.”
What Happened to Ahmaud Arbery?
On Feb. 23, 2020, Travis Michael and Gregory McMichael along with neighbor William Bryan decided to chase Ahmaud Arbery in their trucks after seeing him run through their South Georgia neighborhood. The McMichaels were armed with a shotgun and a pistol while Bryan filmed the entire incident. When the McMichaels trapped Arbery and pulled out a shot gun, Arbery tried to defend himself and was shot and killed by Travis McMichael. All 3 men involved in the killing were found guilty on murder charges and sentenced to life in prison.
Ahmaud Arbery Is Reported To Be Committing A Crime
A Houston County deputy was suspended for comments posted on social media after a judge sentenced the McMichaels and William Bryan to life in prison for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. In response to WGXA-TV’s Facebook article, someone commented: “That criminal arbery still got the death penalty though.” The comment was later deleted, but screenshots were shared with news outlets and the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, igniting a full investigation. The Office plans to fire longtime deputy Paul Urhahn effective Jan. 20.
Candace Owens also shared a similar sentiment during the trial, tweeting: “There is literally ZERO evidence that Ahmaud Arbery was out for a jog on the day that he illegally entered someone else’s property and yet the majority of people keep repeating the lie that he was.” As with the George Floyd case, Owens’s comments are misguided and incorrect. Arbery was seen entering the property on surveillance video on Feb. 23, 2020, before he was killed but “he was just one of several trespassers on the construction site without permission.” according to the property owner.
The Owner of the Construction Site Speaks Out
Larry English, who lived 90 miles away at the time, monitored the property via a motion-activated surveillance camera. English contacted law enforcement to report trespassers in the past but he did not call them on Feb 23. Through his attorney Beth Graddy, he cites his “serious medical condition, which has been aggravated by the stress of responding in the wake of the McMichaels’ actions.” The statement also excludes English from the murder, noting “he did not seek or sanction the defendants’ actions.”
Ahmaud Arbery Toes
In closing arguments, defense attorney Laura Hogue raised eyebrows when she made an insensitive remark about Arbery’s death. Arbery’s mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, left the courtroom after Hogue said “turning Ahmaud Arbery into a victim after the choices that he made does not reflect the reality of what brought Ahmaud Arbery to Satilla Shores in khaki shorts, with no socks to cover his long dirty toenails.” During the sentencing of the McMichaels, Wanda Cooper-Jones demanded that they receive the maximum sentence and also responded to the toenail remark by saying: “I wish he would’ve cut and cleaned his toenails before he went out for that jog that day. I guess he would have if he knew he would be murdered.”
“Nothing was ever stolen from the English property,” the statement said. Graddy added: “Even if theft or damage had occurred, however, the Englishes would never have wanted a vigilante response. The Englishes did not know the McMichaels. The Englishes never enlisted the McMichaels to do what they did and do not want to be part of any effort to justify the McMichaels’ actions.”
“A Modern-Day Lynching”
Ahmaud Arbery was presumed to be committing a crime based on his skin color. The racial slurs allegedly stated by Travis McMichael after the murder weren’t allowed into evidence in the trial. Prosecutors didn’t make a direct statement of racism, but proved a hate crime through evidence and testimony. Ahmaud Arbery saw a threat and ran away for 5 minutes until the McMichael’s and their neighbor trapped him in with their trucks. When the McMichaels were arrested in May 2020, Marcus Arbery Sr. shared memories of his son with CNN on the day that would’ve been his 26th birthday. Arbery Sr. called his son’s killing a “modern-day lynching” following the arrest of the McMichaels. “Anytime you pursue a young man and you jump in a truck with shotguns and pistols… and follow him and slaughter him like that – that’s lynching.” Arbery Sr. told CNN.